Autumn Afternoons
by hachoo
Summary: The four siblings spend an autumn afternoon enjoying life and the company of each other. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with the Chronicles of Narnia except my book.

So, this is my first story, and i'm really nervous about posting it. Please review and give me your thoughts; it will help me (hopefully) improve my writing.

**Autumn Afternoons**

The skies were cloudy, but the sun still peeked through, lighting up the land. The trees were all displaying their gorgeous colourful leaves, from a dull red to vibrant yellow to light brown. As these leaves shed, they flew through the air, whirling with the wind, and eventually flew to where the wind was heading: to Cair Paravel.

Lucy, the youngest of the four monarchs, was standing outside, breathing in the natural scent of the flowers, and really just enjoying the peace on the grounds of Cair Paravel. She tilted her head to a side, relaxing in the sun's warm glow when a voice behind her made her turn around.

"Lucy! What are you doing outside, we have lessons in a few minutes!" came the admonishing tone of her older sister, Susan. Susan looked rather flustered; her normally neat hair was falling out of her braid, and her cheeks were flushed. She had been searching for Lucy for the past ten minutes, and was rather annoyed to find her outside. Lucy grinned at her sister, and opened her arms wide, as if to welcome in the beauty of her surroundings.

"Look at it, Su! It's so beautiful!" her carefree laugh that followed reminded Susan that although Lucy was a queen, she was still young, and the lessons they took everyday were not to her taste. Lucy had always been more of an outdoor girl, preferring to spend her time outside rather than stay cooped up indoors. Right know, her hair was gleaming in the sunlight having fallen out of its bun, and her green dress swung from side to side as she swayed on the spot, her happiness nearly tangible. Said happiness only increased as Lucy spotted her two brothers strolling towards their siblings.

"Peter! Edmund!"

Both Peter and Edmund grinned at their younger sister's happy tone of voice, and increased the speed of their movement. Soon, the two brothers stood beside Susan, all three watching Lucy. Edmund gazed up at the sun, one hand shading his face.

"Err... don't you two have a class soon?" he asked slowly.

"We do, but Lucy won't come inside," an exasperated Susan replied. Any further conversation was interrupted by a sudden gust of wind, which brought a flurry of leaves that twirled around Lucy. Lucy spun around with them, making up an impromptu dance to follow the movements of the leaves. Her giddy laughter rang in her siblings' hearts, bringing a smile to their lips. As the wind continued to blow and more leaves arrived, Lucy turned her smiling face towards her siblings.

"Come on, Peter!" she cried, rushing forward and grabbing his hand. She lead him back out to where the leaves were still dancing, and the two began twirling, Peter eventually picking Lucy up and began swinging her around, their laughter echoing through the grounds. Susan and Edmund watched from the sideline.

"Oh really," Susan moaned, looking up at the sun. "Our lesson would have already started! This is no time for childish behaviour!"

She made a move forward to stop Peter and Lucy's dance of sorts and drag Lucy to their next lesson. But Edmund laid a hand on her arm, preventing her from moving any further. She turned to him, a frown marring her usually gentle features. Edmund just nodded towards the dancing pair, his eyes full of happiness.

"Look at the pair of them. Come on Su, when was the last time you saw Peter this relaxed and happy? And Lucy, I haven't heard her laugh like this in days. It's great, being royalty, but I think we all need a break. We _are_ only kids."

Susan opened her mouth to reply, but found herself gazing at Peter and Lucy, who had by now both collapsed on the ground, both still laughing as they engaged in a tickle war. The two looked so happy. And it was true what Edmund had said. All four of the siblings had been feeling a lot of pressure lately. They had lessons and duties, and also had to learn how to be a good king and queen. It had been days since she had heard Lucy have a good laugh, and even longer since she had heard Peter. A shriek from Lucy shook Susan out of her thoughts, and she turned back to Edmund.

"When did you get so smart, Edmund?" she asked fondly. He merely grinned at her.

"Oh, it's been there forever. You just haven't noticed it before." He said airily, sticking his nose up into the air. Susan felt a sly grin form on her face.

"Oh really?" she asked, and suddenly Edmund found himself being pulled towards Lucy and Peter, who were both sitting on the ground looking up in surprise at the two rapidly approaching figures.

"I declare a war on King Edmund the Just!" Susan cried out. Edmund spun around quickly to face her.

"What? Hey wait, no!"

But it was two late. Susan, Peter and Lucy had all jumped towards him, and the next thing they knew Edmund was on the ground covered by his three siblings. Luckily, the ground was littered with days worth of leaves, so the siblings felt very comfortable on the floor, except perhaps Edmund, who found himself rather uncomfortably wedged between Susan and Peter, with Lucy sitting square on his stomach.

"Come on guys, no fair!"

Peter snorted. "And you're meant to be the diplomatic one with 'a way with words'" he said grinning at his younger brother.

"Words? I'll show you words," Edmund threatened, although the overall effect was ruined by the laughter echoing in his voice and the fact that he was still trapped beneath his siblings.

"Oooh, scary," Peter mocked, jumping up.

Edmund laughingly threw himself at Peter, who fell back.

All four siblings began throwing leaves at each other, teasing each other and calling out mock threats. Not long after, they found themselves lying on the floor gazing up at the sky. Peter was lying flat on his back; his arm curled protectively around Lucy, who had settled between his arm and body, her head resting on his shoulder. On his other side was Edmund, who was resting his head against both Peter and Susan. Susan, on the other side of Edmund, had her body tilted slightly towards her family. All four had rosy cheeks and messed up hair resulting in their small leaf war. Leaves littered their hair, their clothes, and the ground. Susan smiled as she saw the mess they had made, and their appearance. They didn't look very royal at the moment. But as Susan gazed upon her siblings, she began to marvel at the way Narnia had changed them. Edmund had grown tanner, his skin not so pale. His hair was quite long; _I should get it cut soon_, she thought affectionately, and he had already grown taller, soon she was sure he would overtake her. But the thing that had most changed about Edmund was his presence. No longer was he the whiny little brother who seemed to only be able to give dirty looks and pass insulting phrases. He had changed so much. He had grown in character, had become their brother again, someone they could trust and love. He had shown that he cared about them, all three of them, and she was sure he would never become the disagreeable boy he once had been.

Susan smiled at the thought of Edmund's character change. Her eyes drifted further, onto Peter. He was the rock of the family, always had been and always would be. If he cracked, they would all shatter. Peter had always been someone to admire in Susan's eyes. He was her big brother, her protector. But Narnia had somehow taken that trait and made it- magnificent. Her brother now had the presence of a king. People who saw him could see his power, his natural leadership, but they also saw his love, his compassion, and his willingness to fight for the home he loved.

Susan's eyes drifted even further to the small figure lying at Peter's side. Dear little Lucy. The youngest of them all, the one they all treasured. Lucy of all of them had changed the least once in Narnia, perhaps because she already had the most Narnian spirit in her before they arrived. Lucy, with her strong imagination and faith, with her ability to brighten up any day and cheer up even the saddest person. Narnia had only increased her loving nature as she found so many different creatures to make friends with. Not a day went by when she wouldn't come to dinner with a story about a faun or baby rabbit who she had helped and become friends with.

Susan finally turned her gaze up to the sky that her 3 siblings were staring at, admiring the beautiful sunset as the clouds turned a soft pink and purple, and the sky turned a vibrant orange. As she turned her head slightly towards the trees, she could have sworn she saw a fleck of gold that reminded of her a gold mane. Smiling, she turned back to her family and lay peacefully on the ground, surrounded by the love of her siblings, and reassured that no matter where they were, He would always be watching over them.


End file.
